Lifelong 'skins Fan To Talk Science, Nfl On Lifetime

Being a Washington Redskins fan wasn't just a tradition in Anna-Maria McGowan's family, it was almost a mandate.

Growing up in suburban Washington, D.C., meant Redskin rooting was just about second nature, said McGowan, project manager of the Morphing Project at NASA Langley Research Center.

"The practice field was close, so my whole neighborhood was pretty much a Redskins fan," she said.

Her football fandom and her life in science were enough to win McGowan her 15 minutes of fame. She'll be featured tonight on "Her Life & The NFL" on the Lifetime Television station. The program, which airs at 7 p.m., highlights professional women with an interest in football.

McGowan was chosen for the show because of the way she approaches the work, said Bill Uher, a spokesman for NASA Langley.

A representative from NFL Films, which organized the interview, apparently had seen McGowan being interviewed about the Morphing Project. That program is working on designing aircraft to mimic living things, such as how birds fly, and develops technology to let aircraft change shape to enhance performance.

The sci-fi nature of things has garnered lots of televised attention, Uher said.

"It's kind of taken on a life of its own," he said.

It also highlighted McGowan's ability to articulate the complex science in easy-to-understand, television- friendly terms.

And of course, being television, the producers found a foil for McGowan's role as woman-scientist-and-football- fan. They found Damien Richardson, a defensive back with the Carolina Panthers who happens to have a degree in -- something of a rarity among professional football players -- bioengineering.

For the TV show, the two tour the research center as McGowan explains some of the concepts that football and aeronautics share. For instance, the same sorts of fabrics used in football uniforms are also used as lightweight materials for new aircraft designs. And the mathematical formulas that describe how far and fast a football goes as well as how it turns on its axis are generally the same as those used to understand how airplanes fly and how to keep satellites in orbit.

"There's quite a bit of science in football just by default," McGowan said. "Science really does play into everything."

Michael Hines can be reached at 247-4760 or by e-mail at mhines@dailypress.com